TTOT193 Exploring 17th-Century Embroidered Boxes

RSN Curator or Textiles, Dr Isabella Rosner
Wednesday 25 March 2026, 7pm UK

Toward the end of their needlework education, many well-off girls in circa 1650-1700 England embroidered tabletop boxes called cabinets or caskets. These boxes held everything from sewing and writing supplies, to gems and jewellery, to tiny treasures in secret compartments.

Embroidered boxes are informative, thought-provoking tools through which to understand girls’ embroidery education and spaces of ownership.

In this lecture Dr Isabella Rosner will survey the history of these early modern caskets and cabinets, focusing on the variety of extant boxes, their compositions, and how they served as instruments of ownership, privacy, and agency for their makers and owners.

Isabella will also reveal embroidered casket panels from the RSN’s own collection.

Image credit: Cabinet with personifications of the Five Senses, 17th century, The Met Collection

Supporting the RSN

The minimum requested donation for this talk is £8.50 per person, but you may donate a higher value of your choosing if you wish. Please note that Gift Aid (UK tax payers only) is only applicable for donations over £8.50. As a charity, we are very grateful for any support you can give us to put towards the RSN’s essential costs. Thank you.

Important Information

This event is a LIVE online talk at the given date and time and will last between approximately 60-90 minutes including questions and answers. You will need access to a suitable computer (with audio/video), tablet or smartphone device. You will receive your personalised Zoom invite no later than 24 hours before the event (3 hours if booked on the day). Your Zoom invite is unique to you and should not be shared, otherwise you may be unable to view the Talk. We recommend that you download and install the Zoom app on your device in advance of the Talk.

Attendees Outside the UK

This Talk will run from 7pm to approximately 8:30pm (19:00 to 20:30 hours) UK local time. If you are outside of the UK please check your local time, particularly if your location changes to/from Daylight Savings Time on a different schedule to the UK during March/April. To check and convert times please visit TimeAndDate.com.

For details on further RSN Talk events please visit our Online Talks page. 

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